Yamaha Riders File Appeal With AMA Pro Racing

May 01, 2004

Cypress, CA (April 30, 2004) – David Vuillemin and Chad Reed, Yamaha factory riders, and Tyson Hadsell, a Yamaha privateer, filed appeals with AMA Pro Racing concerning the ruling and penalties levied against them as a result of the gasoline they used at the April 17 Dallas Supercross. The appeals were filed on April 28, 2004. Their appeals address such issues as: testing protocol and procedures, test sample collection, potential contamination of the fuel samples and the AMA lead test standard.

Keith McCarty, Yamaha¿s racing manager, stated, ¿Team Yamaha has made every effort to comply with all AMA rules, including the rule regarding the amount of lead in the gasoline used by Team Yamaha riders. Team Yamaha purchased and regularly tested its fuel with the AMA suggested fuel field test kit during the Supercross series. The fuel used by Team Yamaha at the San Francisco Supercross was tested and received a passing result from the AMA. Since Team Yamaha received the AMA test results from the Dallas Supercross, Team Yamaha had the fuel it used at the Salt Lake City Supercross tested by an independent laboratory for lead content. The test results for this gasoline were well within the AMA lead standard.¿

Keith McCarty continued, ¿The AMA has not provided Team Yamaha with a sample of the fuel that the AMA took from Team Yamaha at the Dallas Supercross, despite our request for such a sample. We are concerned about many aspects of the AMA test results and procedure regarding the sample taken by the AMA at Dallas. Given that Team Yamaha purchased fuel that met the AMA standard and Team Yamaha¿s regular and repeated efforts to verify its use of complying fuel, Team Yamaha is concerned that the results of the Dallas test may be the result of fuel contamination.¿

Mr. McCarty concluded, ¿Yamaha feels that the appeals of the riders are supported by the facts. Yamaha will fully support these riders through the AMA appeals process, especially in light of the fact that the penalty levied against these riders is highly disproportionate to the penalties assessed by the AMA against other riders for both fuel and other violations of AMA rules.¿